White Privilege: The Big Lie About Race In America

The progressive liberal playbook includes a handful of concepts that are designed to enhance what I call the “tyranny of the minority”—the power of special interest groups achieved at the expense of the white majority. In addition to social justice, diversity, multiculturalism, and toxic masculinity, one of the most effective schemes invented by the Left is known as “white privilege” —- a devious attempt to foment racial discord.

White privilege points to the unfairness of societal advantages that allegedly benefit all people identified as white. The Left wants white people to confess and atone for those advantages. It has been argued that white privilege, when abused, can lead to horrible crimes committed against society. Despite the rhetoric, the white privilege argument is nothing more than a racist attack on Caucasians. “The fact that white people are better off is not a privilege,” says David Horowitz, author of Black Skin Privilege and the American Dream. “It’s earned,” he insists. The value system that has made the U.S. successful as a nation is an achievement of white people, especially white men. White men founded our republic. White men gave their lives to end slavery. The efforts of white men are largely responsible for the day-to-day commerce that puts food on the table and clothing on our backs. Like it or not, white people drive the engine that makes this country work.

If we wanted to be truthful about the causes of social disruption in the U.S., we would have to point a finger not at white America but rather at the African-American community. In spite of a continuing history of violence, blacks are not being held accountable for their behavior. It is not politically correct to criticize African-Americans, and if you attempt to do so, you are automatically labeled a racist. There is no question that blacks lag behind other groups in economic success, safe neighborhoods, education, and family cohesiveness. The question is, who or what is responsible?

The Left insists that the blame belongs squarely on the shoulders of white people. Not so, says David Horowitz. It is not white privilege that’s preventing blacks from doing better, Horowitz argues. It’s African-American behavior, such as the propensity to commit violent crimes, the inability to build more intact families, and the unwillingness to accept personal responsibility. Black women do not take responsibility for having children out of wedlock and black fathers do not take responsibility for raising their children. Many teenagers in the black subculture hold themselves back by deliberately rejecting mainstream values. This self-destructive behavior—not white privilege—is ruining the lives of millions of black kids.

Wall Street Journal editorial board member Jason Riley has accused civil rights leaders of being more interested in “blaming the problems of blacks on white racism” than getting to the real causes. Political commentator Bill O’Reilly agrees that acceptance of the white privilege argument is encouraging blacks not to take personal responsibility. When you realize that this negative value is already a cancer in black America, blaming white people only compounds an existing problem. Even white Americans are falling for the white privilege scam, says O’Reilly. They are “making excuses for bad behavior,” he says, and “enabling the chaos” in places like Chicago.

Because they depend on the black vote, the Democrats won’t do anything—such as telling the truth—that might offend the African-American community. Instead, the myth of white privilege is being used to brainwash a generation of Americans. Schools across the country are carrying out a racial inquisition where white students are given tests that force them to admit to their so-called white privilege. White students as young as six are taught that they are born racist and should feel guilty that any success they achieve is unearned. Many colleges are forcing white freshmen to take indoctrination courses designed to make them feel badly about their skin color, reports Scott Greer in No Campus for White Men. Greer describes these classes as demonstrating “an outright hatred for white people, especially white men.”

Instead of unfairly shaming white students, what is really needed are indoctrination courses to help minority students take personal responsibility. In blaming white people for all the ills of society, the values of our educational system are upside-down. The very notion of white privilege ought to be an insult to the intelligence of every American. It is a fantasy concocted so white Americans can be demonized and black Americans can avoid dealing truthfully with their issues. For the sake of our children, we must come to our senses before we wind up with a generation of racially confused neurotics.

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